Hoaxes, Conspiracy Theories, and Witch Hunts – Google, Facebook and the Spread of Fake News After the Las Vegas Shooting

In the aftermath of the recent mass shooting in Las Vegas, online hoaxes and unverified rumors spread widely online. Many of these featured prominently in Google searches, on YouTube, and on Google News. More were shared on Facebook pages, some of them verified by the platform.

This episode of the Storyful Podcast examines the ways in which Google and Facebook amplified the reach of false reports and rumors, and asks whether they need to be more cognizant of their responsibilities, now that they have become the gatekeepers of the internet for billions of users.

Della Kilroy talks to Alan O’Riordan and Padraic Ryan from Storyful, as well as Alexis Madrigal, a writer with The Atlantic.